Betting Sports Online Taking Visa Credit Cards

When it comes to betting sports online, the quickest, most convenient and cost-effective option is depositing by debit or credit card. The most popular credit card company in the United States is Visa, by a large margin. According to the Nilson Report, Visa cards made up just over 38% of the total credit card market and 60% of the debit card market[A] in 2015. This number has likely gone up since then.

Visa has an acceptance rate of anywhere between 60-80% given the time and period of deposit at major offshore betting sites. Some banks do not allow their customers to use their cards for online gambling, thus they decline cards sometimes. However, reputable online sportsbooks such as BetOnline.ag and Bovada.lv have the highest acceptance rates for Visa credit cards so we highly recommend them as our two top choices.

This means when a bettor reaches into their wallet to deposit into an online sportsbook, they will most likely be grabbing a Visa debit or credit card. For that reason, virtually every online bookmaker in the world offers them as a deposit option. But the ones with the most success at offshore sites are Bovada and Betonline, as mentioned previously. 5dimes lacks in their credit card department despite being a good sportsbook.

Depositing Using Visa

Depositing into an online sportsbook using your Visa card is simple. In the vast majority of cases, depositing with Visa comes with no attached processing fee. Deposits using any card are instant, and funds are immediately credited to player accounts.

Banks and credit card companies may charge additional fees, usually a few dollars for international transactions. These won’t be covered by the sportsbook but are rare, especially when using Visa cards, compared to sportbooks that take MasterCard and American Express.

Using Visa to deposit money into an online sportsbook is no different than purchasing anything else online. Sportsbooks use a secure server to keep information confidential and secure. Entering your card’s information is perfectly safe, and your data will be encrypted.

If the first Visa card you pull out of your wallet deposits successfully, well, good for you. However, even though Visa does have the highest acceptance rate for major cards at online sportsbooks, many players have issues depositing.

If Your Card Is Declined

If your Visa debit or credit card is declined when you try to deposit, it isn’t a dead end. There are several possible ways to fix this.

First off, make sure you entered the information on your card correctly. It would be a shame to go through the trouble of finding a way to deposit when you simply have mixed up a digit on your card number.

If your card is declined, one option is to call your bank or credit card company and try to have them allow the charge. Of course, you can’t tell them that you’re attempting to use the card for online gambling. Instead, explain that a recent purchase you tried to make didn’t go through. Many times they will unblock the merchant, and you will be able to process the transaction.

You can also try to use the card again in a few hours. Online sportsbooks use several different payment processors. Your card may work with one payment processor, but not work with another.

The support staff may also have access to other payment processors. If your card is declined, get in touch with support and see if they can run your card again on another processor. They will be eager to help you if possible.

If you’ve exhausted your options with your personal credit cards and haven’t had any luck, your best choice is to buy a Visa Gift Card. At sportsbook that accept Visa, these almost always are processed without fail. They can be purchased at just about any department or grocery store and at gas stations.

A Note About Credit Cards

We recommend that players try to use a Visa debit card instead of a credit card when depositing at online gambling sites.

Credit cards always have a risk of being processed as cash advances, which can result in bettors paying unexpected extra fees. Cash advance fees are usually between 3 to 5 percent of the amount processed and something we assume that most would want to avoid paying.

Legal Questions

We touch on the legality of betting in the US and other countries in our legal section[B], but for brevity, there is nothing illegal about depositing with Visa or anything other credit card to bet online.

When the UIGEA’s regulations became law in January 2009, banks and credit card companies were forced by law to block transactions related to internet gambling[C]. Many banks had already blocked online gambling transactions before this, but now they could be fined for failing to do so.

Enforcement has been ramped up since that time, but it’s still possible for a large portion of bettors to deposit via card without any issues. However, even in states where online poker is legal in the US, many have had issues depositing into state-regulated and licensed online poker and casino sites. This is most likely due to years of following regulations designed to stop online gambling transactions.

Withdrawing to Visa

Most sites don’t offer a withdrawal method back to a personal credit or debit card that players used for deposit. With the legal issues surrounding the UIGEA, it’s simply not practical to try and process cashouts back to players’ Visa cards. Chargebacks to credit and debit cards can also take up to a month to process in some cases.

In recent years, many offshore sites are now offering debit card withdrawals to cards issued by the sites themselves. The vast majority of these are Visa cards. These function, in the same way that your traditional debit card does except they can receive cashouts from offshore sportsbooks. They can be used at ATMs and to buy products both online and in person.

Visa In The Current Market

Visa card is by far the most widely used deposit option available to bettors. Based on the general lack of fees and convenience, this makes perfect sense. Bettors can load their account within seconds and are rarely charged a processing fee.

Bovada is the rare exception here. They charge players 4.9% fee on all Visa deposits. Those fees are quite steep considering this is their most convenient and only instant deposit method. However, players will receive a freeplay bonus on their first deposit, which helps make up for this fee.